Introduction to Oceanography
Climb aboard our research vessel the Envio-Lab for an introduction to oceanography as you virtually explore and study the Long Island Sound estuary!
Step 1: Watch this video about the work we do from Enviro-Lab.
What kind of sampling was being conducted from this vessel?
What would that information tell us about the estuary?
Step 2: Read Background Information
Project Oceanology students have been studying the living (biotic) and nonliving (abiotic) things in Long Island Sound for almost 50 years! We do most of our sampling right at the mouth of the Thames River aboard one of our Enviro-lab research vessels, right around the corner from our facility in Groton, CT. Long Island Sound is a pretty amazing place to study; it is an ecosystem called an estuary. There are a few characteristics of this environment that make it unique:
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It contains “brackish” water-- this means it's a mixture of saltwater and freshwater. Where is the salt water coming from in this estuary? Where is the fresh water coming from?
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It is semi-enclosed by land--this means that it is protected from stronger winds and larger waves that would be found out in the open ocean, but also that it is greatly impacted by its closeness to land. How do you think land might affect the estuary?
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It is shallow (when compared to the ocean); the average depth of Long Island Sound is only about 65 feet. That’s nothing compared to the average depth of the ocean, which is about 12,000 feet!-- This means that a greater percentage of the estuary is reached by sunlight, the water can mix from bottom to top pretty easily, and big predators don’t really like to come to visit. All good things if you’re an estuary creature! What kinds of animals do you think live in the estuary?
To learn more about estuaries take a look at this 5 minute video:
Step 3: Take a virtual tour of the estuary with Google Earth!
Step 4: Choose a study path by clicking on the bow (front) or stern (back) of the Enviro-lab below.
Bow-Abiotic Study:
The bow portion of the Introduction to Oceanography virtual field trip focuses on abiotic factors or nonliving components that are important to the estuary. These factors include: temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, pH, carbon dioxide, sediment, depth, color, clarity and air temperature. The research question - How and why do the chemical and physical properties of the estuary change with depth? You’ll follow up by considering what your findings mean for the health of the ecosystem.
Stern-Biotic Study:
The stern portion of the Introduction to Oceanography virtual field trip focuses on biotic components or the living things that make up an estuary such as fish, crabs, plankton and seaweed. The research question - How and why does the abundance of benthic organisms in Long Island Sound change with the seasons? You’ll follow up by considering how biotic and abiotic aspects of Long Island Sound are related.
From this point viewers should choose either the Bow Landing Page or the Stern Landing Page.
In this online activity, you will use your scientific skills to help us figure out why the physical and chemical properties (abiotic factors) vary with depth in an estuary. In order to complete this activity, you will need some pieces of paper, and something to write with.
In this online activity, you will use your scientific skills to help figure out why species diversity and abundance vary with season in the estuary. In order to complete this activity, you will need some pieces of paper, and something to write with.